Retribution
by star.everlasting
Summary: Ariadne is not happy when Arthur takes on a job without her. Fortunately, she has payback all lined up. [AxA]


**Retribution**

Just a short shot =] I hope you guys enjoy! I definitely enjoyed writing this.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inception. Dang.

* * *

There were many things in his life that Arthur never expected. For instance, he never expected to be a world-class thief with so much money in various off-shore bank accounts that were gathering dust. He never expected to become best friends with someone who stole secrets for a living, and definitely never expected the adrenaline junkie in him to be pacified by somnacin and a silver briefcase. He never expected to be part of a team that managed to pull off just about the biggest heist ever attempted in unrecorded history. He never expected a swift intake of breath and swish of read fabric, a small cough, and dark caramel eyes to be the anchor that tied him to reality.

They just sort of…_happened_.

Suddenly, he was wanted by various corporations around the world. He had so much money he didn't know what to do with it all. Suddenly, he was master of this universe and the next, able to slip in and out of reality through the very cracks of consciousness undetected.

Just as suddenly, his one-bedroom studio apartment right in the heart of New York was turned upside down, splashes of color amidst the monochrome silvers, blacks, and browns. Twisted shapes and rounded corners embellished his once-straight lines. Chaos and order came together in a dance that resulted in the platinum band on the fourth finger of Arthur's left hand.

He unlocked the door, pushing it open to the humming coming from a petite brunette dancing around the kitchen, the smell of dinner permeating the air. When she turned and saw him at the door, a wide smile grew on her face as her beautiful brown eyes practically glowed.

Arthur never expected to meet Ariadne, but he was forever grateful that he did.

"Didn't kill Eames today, did you?" His wife asked after a brief kiss.

"Unfortunately," he answered, grimacing. She laughed.

"One of these days, I'm going to have to scrape a dead Forger off the warehouse floor," Ariadne said, taking the lasagna out of the oven.

"It'd be completely worth it though," the Point Man countered. She sighed.

"Cobb leaves three years, and then you kill your next partner. Great track record, Arthur," Ariadne replied drily.

"Speaking of great track records," Arthur set the table before taking the plate from her and kissing her nose. "I see you cleaned up some today. Stayed home, did you?"

If looks could kill, the Architect would have murdered her husband three times over with one glance.

"I still haven't forgiven you," Ariadne scowled as she loaded the second plate. "I can't believe you would accept a job without me as the Architect."

"Sorry, Ari. Job came with an architect, and you know we couldn't refuse this one. It would put old Saito way out of sorts."

"Bullshit. Saito just wants his darling nephew to learn from the best. Speaking of which," she said thoughtfully. "I still can't believe he would let his nephew get into dreamshare." She walked to the table, putting the plate down in front of her as Arthur pulled her chair out. "How did he find out about it anyway?"

"He's Saito's favorite. Bedtime stories about Limbo and all," the Point replied, shrugging. His wife deadpanned.

"Arthur. The man is twenty-six."

"He's an architect in Tokyo, helped design Saito's office. Thought it might be good opportunity to learn more about the parameters of his field." Arthur said as he stabbed his fork into the food. Looking over, he could see the annoyance written all over her face- he knew she hated not doing anything when it came to work, and especially hated it when she had to sit out on one of his jobs. Like all dreamers, Ariadne was addicted. Worse, she was an architect. Barring her from dreaming was barring her from pure creation.

Arthur reached over, attempting to smooth the wrinkle on her forehead from her pouting. Of all the things he never expected, he never expected to stay somewhere for a prolonged period of time, have someplace to call home, marry someone who understood his world, and enjoying a wonderful, home-cooked meal.

Finally, after taking a bite of her lasagna, Ariadne relented. "So what did you guys do today?"

Her husband shrugged. "It's just preliminary research on the mark right now," he said. "What about you?"

She signed. "Oh, you know, did some chores." Ariadne waved her fork, watching her husband take a rather large bite of food. It took the Architect everything she had not to pause or burst out laughing- she had been waiting for this moment the whole day. "Got take-out for lunch."

Arthur nodded as he continued to down his lasagna. The poor thing. Ariadne allowed a little smirk before saying, "Oh, by the way, I'm pregnant."

For the rest of her life, the Parisian would not forget this moment, her crowning achievement. If there was ever a single moment to tie her to reality, this was it. She was so glad she thought to hide a camera discreetly in the bookshelf just to capture this.

Arthur, the all-immaculate Point Man, perfect in all his professionalism and detail-oriented nature, with his overwhelming charisma and charm, spat his lasagna out, choking on his food. Ariadne, on her part, threw her head back and laughed so hard she started crying. She put her hand on her still-choking husband, rubbing his back soothingly as she continued to laugh. With her other hand, she reached for the glass of water in front of him. As he frantically downed it, he glared at his wife, who was wiping the tears from her eyes.

For a minute, neither of them said anything, waiting for the news to settle. Ariadne bit her lip to keep her face from splitting with a huge smile and ruining the moment. Arthur cleared his throat.

"You're _pregnant_?"

The Architect nodded.

"Since when?"

She grinned. "Went to the doctor today. I'm three weeks along."

No matter how many times she had read stories about pregnancy reveals, how many times she's watched these scenes in movies, they couldn't have prepared her for the flood of emotion at the look of awe that had settled in Arthur's face, the twinkle in his eyes. Just like the day she walked back into that warehouse in Paris several years ago.

Slowly, he put his hand on her still-flat belly, looking down at it before looking back at her. Ariadne found her eyes filling with tears a second time, for a different reason. She covered his hand with hers.

"Arthur," she said, trying to her best to keep her voice from breaking. "We're going to have a baby."

This was certainly not something the Point Man ever expected to hear in his life. He had to look away for a second, trying to keep his emotions under control, before putting his other hand on his wife's face. Arthur gently pulled her forward, kissing her lips and forehead. Her decadent brown eyes were shining as she looked at him. Ariadne smiled- she hated crying, but she could make an exception for this occasion. Her husband looked down at their hands on her stomach.

"Hi, baby," he said softly. "I'm daddy."

* * *

The moment he walked into the warehouse, he knew something was very, very wrong. Ariadne insisted on making everyone breakfast, and so got up early and left the apartment before him. The Point Man gave her a few minutes head start, knowing she would be twiddling her thumbs for the next year or so with extraction and her being pregnant. She was not going to be happy.

That was how he walked in on Yusuf, Ariadne, Cobb, and Eames around the Forger's desk. Cobb was in town visiting, and Saito and his nephew hadn't arrived yet. From what Arthur could see, the Chemist was gripping the desk, heaving. Ariadne was grinning from ear to ear, and Cobb was trying his best not to laugh. Eames, on the other hand, was howling.

"Morning, hun," his wife said, a wicked gleam in her eyes. She tried the innocent look next. "Breakfast is on my desk if you want to grab some."

Eames fell off his chair from laughing so hard.

Arthur glared as he saw her phone propped up in front of them, a still of him and Ariadne sitting at their table eating lasagna on the screen.


End file.
